DANVILLE, Ky. (CentreAthletics.com) – Centre redshirt-senior quarterback Heath Haden (Kingsport, Tenn.) continues to etch his name in the Colonel football record books, as he tied a single-game school record with 445 passing yards on Saturday afternoon, pacing a Colonel offense that tallied 619 total yards in a 42-26 victory over visiting Birmingham Southern in a Southern Athletic Association game at Farris Stadium.

The Colonels won their third straight game and improved to 6-2 overall and 4-2 in SAA play, while the Panthers dropped to 4-5 on the year and 2-5 in conference action.

Haden's 445 yards ties Brian Behrendt's performance against Maryville (Tenn.) in 2004 and also represents a career-high for the Kingsport, Tenn. native. He completed 21-of-32 passes to go along with a pair of touchdowns. Haden became Centre's all-time leading passer in a win at Sewanee last week. With his two touchdown passes on Saturday, he now has 62 career touchdown strikes and is just four shy of the school record of 65 career touchdown passes, also held by Behrendt.

After a scoreless first quarter on Saturday, junior running back Casey Bradley's (Acworth, Ga.) one-yard touchdown run to get the Colonels on the board, capping a 13-play, 95-yard drive for Centre.

The Colonels forced a Panther three-and-out, before Haden found junior wide receiver Duncan Mercer (South Charleston, Ohio) for a 32-yard touchdown pass to push the Centre lead to 14-0 at the 12:22 mark of the second quarter.

The scoring drive took only 47 seconds and was set up by a pair of connections between Haden and senior wide receiver Blake Martin (Lexington, Ky.) of 19 and 24 yards.

Later in the quarter, Haden found senior wide receiver Jake Johnson (Louisville, Ky.) down the left sideline for a 53-yard touchdown to extend the Centre advantage to 21-0 with just under four minutes to play in the half.

In the third quarter, Birmingham Southern running back Samir Usman gave the Panthers their first points of the game with a 10-yard touchdown run on their first drive of the second half. Birmingham Southern's extra point attempt was blocked by senior defensive end Kris Beauchamp (Norcross, Ga.).

However, the Colonels would answer with a touchdown run of their own as Bradley posted his second score of the day, this time from four yards out to give Centre a 28-6 lead at the 7:20 mark of the third quarter.

The two teams would once again trade touchdowns on their next two drives, as Kyler Jackson's 37-yard touchdown run made the score 28-12 after the Panthers's two-point conversation attempt failed, before junior running back Nolan Coulter (Knoxville, Tenn.) scored his team-leading ninth rushing touchdown of the season on a three-yard run to extend the Centre advantage to 35-12 with three minutes to play in the third quarter.

The Colonels were set up with excellent field position for the Coulter touchdown, as senior defensive back Alex Mattingly (Louisville, Ky.) returned the Birmingham Southern kickoff 57 yards to the Panthers' 30-yard line. Haden then hurled a 20-yard completion to sophomore wide receiver Noah Dziedzic (Richmond, Va.) on first down, placing Centre at the 10-yard line.

Birmingham Southern opened the fourth quarter with a Jamal Watkins four-yard touchdown run to cut the Colonels' lead to 35-19, but Centre responded with another touchdown by Coulter on a one-yard run to gain a 42-19 advantage early in the final stanza.

The Panthers answered right back when Birmingham Southern quarterback Austin Martin found Jonathan Scaringe for a 10-yard touchdown strike with just over six minutes to play in the game and shrinking the final deficit to 42-16, as Centre topped the Panthers for the third consecutive time. The Colonels are now 10-2 all-time against Birmingham Southern.

Centre outgained the Panthers 619-384, including an advantage of 445-156 yards through the air. Birmingham Southern finished with 228 rushing yards, while the Colonels tallied 174 yards on the ground.

Centre's 619 yards represent its second highest total of the season. The Colonels have racked up at least 500 yards in four games this year and have posted 400-or-more yards in six of eight games this season.

Coulter carried 17 times for 114 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He now has 12 career 10—yard rushing performances, including six this season, matching his total from the 2014 campaign.

Bradley finished with 41 yards on 14 rushes to go along with two touchdowns.

Johnson posted a game-high 103 receiving yards, catching four passes and contributing a touchdown grab. It marked his second career 100-yard receiving game.

Martin matched a career-high with 96 yards receiving, while Mercer added a career-high 62 receiving yards on three catches.

Sophomore tight end Austin Hayes (Hendersonville, Tenn.) caught three passes for 46 yards on the day.

Senior linebacker Conor Flaherty (Columbus, Ohio) recorded a career- and team-high 14 tackles (6 solo, 8 assisted) on the day, his second game with at least 10 tackles this season.

Junior linebacker Anthony Kersey (Winchester, Ky.) matched a career-high with 10 tackles in the win, including three tackles for loss for a combined nine yards.

Junior defensive lineman Trey Yeager (Danville, Ky.) contributed nine tackles for the Colonels, including two tackles for loss.

Beauchamp, sophomore defensive end Shane Smith (Crestwood, Ky.) and senior defensive lineman Vinny Morris (Stanford, Ky.) each registered a sack for Centre, while freshman defensive back Rhoman James (Lexington, Ky.) posted his SAA-leading fifth interception of the season.

The win on Saturday guaranteed the Colonels their eighth winning season in a row.

Centre returns to action next Saturday, Nov. 7 hosting Rhodes in the home finale and senior day in an SAA contest at 1:30 p.m.